Dumas native Richardson, Alabama A&M to host UAPB Saturday

Before they were playing for two Southwestern Athletic Conference rivals, Dumas native Shabr’an Richardson and Pine Bluff native Alexi Rollins were spending their summers together for a weeklong basketball camp in Dumas.

“We roomed together for a basketball camp,” Rollins said. “It was called the Dumas Bobcat camp or something like that.

“I had a real nice time at those camps with her. Because of her, I kept coming back every year. She is a real nice person to be around.”

Richardson’s aunt, Dumas head coach Glory Slater, hosts the camp. The two would room together for a week, forming a tightly knit bond.

“I know her very well,” Richardson said. “We got close over the years.

“It was just a camp my aunt does every summer. We would work on our fundamentals and we did various drills and we just connected.”

Rollins, who played for Watson Chapel at the time, found out about the camp through her dad, Bruce.

When Bruce Rollins found out Slater was still coaching and hosting the camp, he immediately signed up his daughter.

“She just wanted to get better,” Richardson said of Rollins. “She picked up some drills and had fun with it.”

“I liked her auntie a lot,” Rollins said. “My dad played basketball before I was born and her auntie remembered my dad.

“Getting coached under somebody that knew my dad made it extra special.”

Rollins said she looked forward to the camps every year.

“It was nice because I knew somebody and I was not going down there by myself,” Rollins said.

Richardson is now a sophomore for the women’s basketball team at Alabama A&M. She has played in 12 games this year and averages 4.6 points per game as well as 3.2 rebounds. She is 16 of 35 from the floor and has only started in one game.

Against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 22, Richardson led A&M with six rebounds.

“Coming off the bench, I have to bring energy,” Richardson said. “It is something my coach expects me to do.

“… I don’t focus on offense as much as I should, because I believe defense wins games.”

A&M is coming off a four-game losing streak including their first two SWAC games against Jackson State and Grambling State.

“We are having a pretty good season,” Richardson said. “I feel like we are trying to find ourselves as a team.